First, understand what a poker tournament is. It’s not a battlefield. It’s not a debate. If there is a modern analogy, it might be the so-called ‘caged match’ in so-called ‘professional wrestling. Ten men enter and only one survives. But that analogy is not perfect, as the truth is that five, ten, sometimes 25 or more entrants survive every tournament very well thank-you. Maybe it’s like the popular TV show, “Lost”. You’ve landed on an island in the middle of nowhere and you have to find a way to survive. You only have so much food. There are beasts in the jungle. And your fellow passengers are not to be trusted.
Survival: That’s your first objective. You need to make it to the next hand, and from there to the next table, and from there to the remaining tables, and so on.. To do that you can’t just sit on the beach and wait. You have to get off your butt and do a little exploration of the island, take a few chances. You have to find food (chips), water (chips), and to a way to deny these necessities (chips) to the other passengers. So what’s your strategy?
Weapons: What do you have in your arsenal? What makes poker interesting is that everyone has access to the same weapons: rules of the game, knowledge of the odds, insights into character: it’s how you handle those weapons that makes the difference. Your weapons are only as effective as your expertise in handling them. Know the odds, and know your opponents (or at least be actively assessing them as you play)
The Stack: As you move through a tournament each level will bring with it a new crop of generally more skilled players, bigger blinds, and greater pressure. At all times you should be aware of your stack, and how to protect it. While you need to have a consistent strategy and stick to it, that strategy must be adapted to circumstance. You won’t take the same risks in the early part of a tournament as you will toward the latter stages. Be patient, but know when to strike. And when you are confident you hold a winning hand, work the table to build that pot.
Energy and Focus. The difference between a champion and a good player is often very simple: focus. We’ve all seen the speed skater heading toward the finish line suddenly ‘lose an edge’. He may have been the strongest and the fastest, but a momentary lapse of focus and everything is lost. You may have the greatest knowledge of the game, a sure-fire strategy, and a big stack of chips but if you lose focus, aren’t paying attention, and let yourself get pulled into a duel with another player who is paying attention, that may be all she wrote. To maintain your energy and focus in a long tournament take advantage of any breaks to eat well, drink water (never alcohol), stretch and revive. If you get a chance, take a relaxed walk around the block, a bathroom break, and maybe wash your face and brush your teeth. (Back at the table though, don’t let anyone know how refreshed you feel..)
Strategy: No one can tell you what your strategy should be: you know best what works for you. Of course there are plenty of examples (books and books) of strategies that have worked well for others, and a familiarity with these approaches is important. More important to tournament success however, is that your strategy is not obvious to others. Especially at the beginning of a tournament, or when you first sit down at a new table, it’s important to mix it up. Be aggressive one hand. Limp into another. Make a bad play or two. Remember, the good players are paying more attention to how you play, than their own cards. If you don’t mix it up, especially in the beginning, the good players will soon figure you out and – no matter what cards you are dealt, will minimize your effectiveness.
Be Lucky.